ACCESS:VFX

Access: VFX is a VFX Industry movement striving for better inclusion and increased diversity in the creative sector.

ACCESS:VFX got going with a week of talks, screenings, workshops and panel discussions to coincide with National Inclusion Week in the UK.

We’ve summarised a few of our favourite sessions for you below.

I love what we do, not the way we do it

Isobel Stenhouse, production supervisor at Double Negative, gave a heartfelt talk on mental health in the animation and VFX industries. Drawing from her own experiences managing teams in these high pressured environments, she spoke about the importance of recognising when colleagues may be having problems and the working conditions that can lead to them. There is evidence to suggest that anxiety and depression are more prevalent in the creative industries, and a particularly touching moment in the talk were comics that an animator had created to illustrate their own experiences with depression. One attendee remarked that the talk was “eye-opening”.

Photo courtesy of Double Negative

Another topic covered was mental health first aid, and Isobel hopes that eventually every company will recognise how it is as important to have someone trained in mental first aid as it is in the traditional kind.

Her thought provoking talk was very well received, with one audience member commenting how lucky her team was to have her as a manager!

Meet the Parents | How to keep doing what you love and spend time with those you love.

In a fully booked talk, Louise Hussey, VFX Chair of AWUK and Executive VFX Producer at Double Negative TV, hosted a panel of industry parents (Pete Levy – VFX Producer, Double Negative TV; Nicky Bentham – Film Producer and founder, Raising Films; Tory Wire, HR Director, The Mill; Una Mazaroti – Animator and Editor; Rebecca Barbour, Talent Manager, ILM) and led discussion on the difficulties of balancing family and career in the film and VFX industries and the methods they and their companies use to make life easier for parents.

Photo courtesy of Double Negative

Honest and frank contributions from men and women, both on the panel and in the audience, revealed that there is definitely no simple ‘one size fits all’ approach that would make for a work/life utopia, but lots of people are making it work.

For inspirational stories from other parents in the film industry head to Raising Films.